What happened?
At a party yesterday the conversation really shocked me.
*Other Guests boasted that they threw away up to a third of their shopping each week as they overbought.
*Other Guests were proud of the fact that they stockpiled food in their freezer and cupboards that they don’t even eat. It was bought because it was on offer.
*Other Guests refused to sort their own rubbish at home so that it could be recycled
(despite the fact that the Council in this area collect some of the recyclable items such as tins, some plastics and paper)
*Other Guests claimed they had many items of clothing, bags, shoes, toiletries that still had labels on and were likely never to be used by themselves.
The people at this party were all professional well educated people. Some of the conversation was about their support of Green issues.
So What happened?
I am sorry to say that this behaviour is not untypical. It is the consequence of consumerism, which has encouraged everybody to work all hours to earn more money to buy things to keep up with the neighbours. As consumerism has taken hold we have even been encouraged to ditch the old virtue of frugality and to embrace consumerism to such an extent that huge borrowing has been regarded as good for the economy.
A country’s economic health used to be judged in terms of its balance of payments and reserves. More recently economies have been judged merely on quantities consumed (that is what Gross Domestic Product measures). The same has happened with people. Their worth has been judged by their consumption, particularly of fashionable things like cars and clothes. Aesthetics has not been forgotten amongst professional and well educated people but it leads them to value butterflies, birds and to condemn litter without thinking about the catastrophic consequences of their own wasteful use of resources.
The good news is that the more important environmental and humanitarian issues are beginning to come to the surface. These are 1) the need to share resources more equitably so that hunger is eliminated 2) to conserve resources (such as fossil fuels) for essential purposes and for future generations and 3) to halt global warming.
Fortunately there is no inconsistency between these needs; they can all be addressed simultaneously and with positive cross-over. For example conserving fossil fuels will help address global warming. Furthermore the simpler lifestyles needed are more fun and healthier than trying to keep up with the neighbours.
Best wishes with spreading the word.
Thrift Stores, Recycling Clothing, Re-Inspired Threadbanger
